The present invention relates generally to swimming pools, and in particular, to an improved type of portable swimming pool.
In the construction of swimming pools for private homes, it has been customary to either construct an elaborate concrete pool or other type of construction of a permanent nature, or to construct a portable above ground pool. Sometimes a separate deck is constructed around the above ground pool. In the case of permanent pool constructions, installation costs have always been high. Another problem with this permanent type of pool construction is that the concrete pool cannot be moved when the owner moves.
These problems led to the development of a class of portable pools characterized by the fact that a substantial portion of the pool structure is above ground and some below ground in an excavation. Generally, these types of pools are provided with rigid sidewall structures extending above ground, sometimes surrounded by a deck disposed about the periphery of the upstanding wall structure. In many cases, the upstanding wall structure is constructed about an excavation which is then lined with a typically flexible plastic liner to increase the depth of the pool.
However, properly anchoring the plastic wall in the excavation is difficult. Special footings or embedded posts may be necessary. This then becomes even more of a problem when an adjacent deck has to be properly anchored in the ground.
One attempt to resolve this involves essentially eliminating a pool wall and hanging a liner from the top of a deck which is anchored in the ground. Even here, the deck has to be properly and carefully anchored as by posts driven into the earth.